1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to information processing systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a method, article of manufacture and apparatus for operating a browser program configured to process electronic mail addresses.
2. Background of the Related Art
Browsers and electronic mail have become important and widely used in today""s computing environment. In general, a browser, or browser program, translates information into a form that is accessible to a computer user, such as graphics, text, sound, etc., or a combination thereof (i.e. multimedia). One application of a browser is to facilitate communication between linked computer system resources, such as computer networks, including both local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) such as the Internet.
For example, Internet browsers (e.g., Netscape""s Navigator and Windows"" Explorer) provide a user of the browser with access to files, or documents, on the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW, or the Web), which is the Internet""s multimedia information retrieval system. Using an Internet browser, a user""s computer (i.e. the client) communicates with a host computer (i.e. the server) connected to the client via the Internet and having a specific Internet address. The client transacts with the server (or servers) using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which is a known application protocol providing users access to files or documents (e.g. graphics, text, sound, etc.) using a standard page description language known as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML provides basic document formatting for document retrieval and allows specification of xe2x80x9clinksxe2x80x9d within a file to other servers and files, allowing a user to navigate therebetween. An Internet path to a server is identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) having a special syntax for defining a network connection.
Browsers often contain bookmarks, also called bookmark lists, that allow a user to conveniently store and retrieve information useful in locating and retrieving certain information using the browser. For example, an Internet browser allows a user to access network addresses and server files (i.e., Web xe2x80x9cpagesxe2x80x9d) using URLs. Most commercially available Internet browsers provide a bookmark list in which a user can store network addresses (URLs) for future retrieval.
In addition to browsers, electronic mail (e-mail) has become increasingly important and useful. Generally, e-mail is electronic messaging between linked computers, including computers connected via a network such as the Internet. An e-mail address specifies a destination, or a path to a destination, for an electronic message.
Frequently, the information or files accessed using a browser contain one or more e-mail addresses associated in some way with the accessed information. For example, in the Internet context, a Web page frequently contains e-mail addresses associated in various ways with that Web page. In some cases the Web page may include the e-mail address of the Web page owner (including a Web page manager), the e-mail address of a person to contact for correspondence relating to the Web page, etc.
Often, a user who accesses, or browses, Web pages on the Internet later desires to access e-mail addresses contained within certain previously browsed, or accessed, Web pages. However, while prior art browsers may provide bookmark lists that allow a user to access Web pages, they do not facilitate retrieval of e-mail addresses that may be contained within the Web pages. Therefore, a user must locate the Web page in which the e-mail address is contained, and/or browse previously browsed Web pages in order to find desired e-mail addresses.
Therefore, there is a need for a method, article of manufacture and apparatus for collecting electronic mail addresses using a browser program.
A method, article of manufacture and apparatus for collecting electronic mail addresses using a browser program is provided. In one embodiment, a method is provided for collecting electronic mail addresses, comprising executing a browser program to access an electronic document having a network address and containing at least one electronic mail address, parsing the electronic document to identify the at least one electronic mail address, and storing the at least one electronic mail address.
Another embodiment provides a computer-readable medium having instructions or programs which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, comprising executing a browser program to access an electronic document having a network address and containing at least one electronic mail address, parsing the electronic document to identify the at least one electronic mail address, and storing the at least one electronic mail address.
Still another embodiment provides an apparatus for collecting electronic mail addresses, comprising a memory for storing a browser program, a processing unit coupled to the memory, and a network containing at least one electronic document having a network address and containing at least one electronic mail address. The processing unit is configured to execute the browser program to cause the browser program to access an electronic document of the at least one electronic documents, parse the electronic document to identify the at least one electronic mail address, and store the at least one electronic mail address.